


photogenic (aka behind the scenes)

by TinyValiance



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Jongin and Sehun are griends (gay friends) in platonic love, Kim Jongin | Kai & Oh Sehun are Best Friends, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Modeling, Photographer Chanyeol, Photography
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-03-19
Packaged: 2018-10-07 12:43:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10360779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyValiance/pseuds/TinyValiance
Summary: “Look in love,” Chanyeol instructed.“I can’t,” Sehun said. “He’s scaring me.”“It’s the fiery passion of my love, just roll with it,” Jongin bit out.Jongin and Sehun model together for Chanyeol and attract attention. They do not really understand the hype, but art is nice, and it brought Kyungsoo into Jongin's life, so they are content to let it be.





	

**Author's Note:**

> ♥ PLEASE READ! THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!♥
> 
> 1\. I want to make it clear that these people in the story are just characters based on real people. This is my interpretation of them. My writing does not reflect on any real people involved in this story. Please do not repost this story anywhere or post a link to this story anywhere. Tumblr is the only exception. I do not want it on Twitter, Instagram, or anywhere a member of EXO or any other kpop star in this story can see it (if they see it on Tumblr, then whatever, Tumblr feels more private). Do not send this story to them. Please keep this story safe here! Respect their privacy and mine.
> 
> 2\. WARNINGS: swearing, sexual language, vague setting (idk what country to put them in), humourous banter at the expense of the gay porn industry. I intended no offense or disrespect.
> 
> 3\. Please comment! No matter how long the story is up, I will always appreciate comments. I love all feedback. Nice comments are appreciated more than you know. Also, I am not perfect, I want to improve! If you think I could do something better in terms of characterization, grammar and wording (etc), please tell me.

Jongin blinked at Chanyeol, simultaneously exhausted and wide awake. It was like taking a shot of caffeine and only feeling it in his brain while his body remained a useless lump of deadweight. “You want me to do what to his what?”

Chanyeol sighed under his beret. “I want you to hold Sehun’s neck and stare deeply into his eyes, Jongin.”

This is not what Jongin had thought he was agreeing to when Chanyeol said ‘photography project’. He had assumed that Chanyeol just needed to borrow his hotness for bonus marks. He was told that Sehun would be modeling with him, but Chanyeol failed to mention just _how_ they would be modeling together. As it turned out, they were modeling _together_. Like, **_together_** _, together_. As a couple. In their underwear. This was all quite unanticipated, and each new surprise was another shock to the system.

Sehun sluggishly turned his head to face Chanyeol. “I wanna go home.”

“Aish,” Chanyeol scolded, “just do it.”

“ _Swoosh,_ ” Sehun said under his breath, just to make everything even _more_ romantic, Jongin was sure.

He decided it would be best to suck it up and get this over with. He placed his hand on Sehun’s neck and fixed him with a smolder/death glare (either one, he could tell you which if he had a mirror). Sehun awkwardly stared back.

“Sehun, put your hands on Jongin’s hips,” Chanyeol instructed.

Sehun’s frown twisted into something even darker. With his eyes, Jongin urged Sehun to _just do it god stop being a little bitch about it_. Sehun obliged after huffing out a resigned breath of air.

“Closer,” Chanyeol instructed.

The two boys muttered and sighed as they inched closer together.

“Good, now, three…” Chanyeol trailed off.

Jongin deadpanned, “Did you forget how to count again?”

Sehun snorted. Jongin turned his head to see Chanyeol’s bitchface. It was as satisfying as he hoped it would be.

“ _No_ ,” Chanyeol bitched. “It doesn’t look right.”

“It doesn’t feel right,” Sehun said.

“Why are you making us do this, hyung?” Jongin complained.

“Didn’t I explain this to you?” Chanyeol asked, genuinely unsure. “I need two gay guys for authenticity.”

“You didn’t tell me that I needed to _be gay_ with him,” Jongin chastised. “Seriously Chanyeol, I can’t do this. I wouldn’t fuck Sehun if I was dying of Satyriasis.”

Sehun blinked. “That is… offensive and comforting at the same time.”

“This is not just about sex,” Chanyeol explained, with that slightly manic, artistic undertone colouring his voice. “This is about you being so in love with Sehun that you know nothing else. You only know his eyes, his body, his gentle touch…”

“I think I’m bruising, actually,” Jongin said. Sehun released his grip on Jongin’s hips with a muttered apology.

Chanyeol sighed, sounding defeated. His beret resembled a wilted fig leaf. Jongin wondered if it worked like a mood ring. He wondered if Chanyeol’s hair worked that way too. Like, did he ever actually dye his hair? Had anyone ever actually _seen_ Park Chanyeol dye his hair? That shade of red was super vivid, how did he get it to come out like that? Suspicious.

“Come on guys,” Chanyeol pleaded. “I just need two good pictures. That’s it.”

Despite everything – and everything was _a lot_ – Chanyeol was still Jongin’s friend. He could make Jongin smile through the tough times, inspire him to be a better person, and encourage him towards an ever brighter future. Jongin owed a lot of his happiness to the guy. Helping him out for a project without depressing him was the least Jongin could do in return.

“Okay,” Jongin nodded. Sehun repositioned his hands and did the same.

“Look _in love_ ,” Chanyeol instructed.

“I can’t,” Sehun said. “He’s scaring me.”

“It’s the fiery passion of my love, just roll with it,” Jongin bit out.

Sehun stretched out a crick in his neck and breathed through the fear. He nodded. Jongin nodded back. They could do this. They were ready.

“Great,” Chanyeol complimented, “perfect. Just hold it there. Three, two, one…”

For a few minutes, all Jongin heard was the sound of clicking and flashing, and all he could see in between bursts of white light were the outlines of Sehun’s facial features. It was surprisingly easy to dissociate from the situation. Jongin thought this must be how actors got through it.

“Perfect,” Chanyeol said. When Jongin clued back into reality, he looked over at Chanyeol. The boy was a picture of happiness. Jongin was almost certain that his hair looked brighter than before. Suspicious.

-♡-

As promised, Jongin and Sehun were the first two people to see how the photos turned out. The chosen photos included one of Sehun and Jongin staring at each other, and another one of the same photo, except this time Jongin’s eyes were shut.

“Why did you choose one where I blinked?” Jongin asked. He thought Chanyeol would have at least gone for a different angle or something.

Chanyeol shrugged. “You just looked less angry.”

Sehun laughed through his nose. “So that’s what the ‘fiery passion’ was.”

“Hate sex is great sex,” Jongin argued, and roughly shoved a shrimp chip into Sehun’s mouth.

-♡-

Jongin knew he was attractive. He would never claim to be some kind of modern Adonis, but he could acknowledge his handsome features. He knew he could turn heads. It was not strange for him to receive attention, whether that attention came in the form of looks, touches, or flirting. Jongin had come to accept all of this.

Recently, though, he felt like the attention had become more… _attentive_ than usual. It was amplified somehow. He felt like a goldfish, and everyone was tapping on his glass bowl. Could this be a narcissistic complex? Jongin did not feel any better looking. Did that mean this was paranoia? What about him had become so captivating in the past four days? It had to be his imagination.

Jongin sat down in front of Sehun at their lunch table. “Do I look different to you?” he asked.

Sehun gave Jongin a lazy onceover. He shook his head. “No, you look normal.”

It had to be paranoia, then. Oh joy, this semester was ruining him. “Oh, okay.”

“Why do you ask?” Sehun inquired.

Jongin shrugged. “It’s nothing. I just thought I noticed people looking at me.”

Sehun shrugged back and took another bite of his egg sandwich. “Yeah, they tend to do that. Just get a boyfriend, you won’t even care anymore.”

Sehun made it sound like it was easy, but alas, not everyone had Sehun’s freakish gay magnetism. Cute boys were just _drawn_ to him. Jongin could see the appeal, in a way. Like, he enjoyed ramyeon noodles, but not enough to fuck them. He digressed. He just accepted his best friend as one of life’s great mysteries.

“It’s not easy for everyone,” Jongin grumbled, poking at his soup.

“I think you intimidate people,” Sehun said. “Like, you’re just way too hot, they don’t know what to do.” He was totally serious.

Jongin blinked owlishly. “That… was actually really nice of you to say.”

Sehun just shrugged. “That’s me, best friend of the year. Oh?”

Jongin looked up from his soup. Something had caught Sehun’s eye. Jongin turned around to follow his friend’s line of sight and saw Chanyeol approaching with a stranger.

“Hello!” Chanyeol greeted with an emphatic wave. The stranger just looked down. “Guys, this is Baekhyun’s friend, Kyungsoo! He was born in 1993.”

“Hello, Kyungsoo,” Sehun waved. “I’m Sehun.” Kyungsoo barely looked up for a second to acknowledge him.

“Hello,” Jongin said. “I’m Jongin.” Kyungsoo did not even move to acknowledge him. Jongin’s bottom lip jutted out in a pout. That was rude.

“Ah, sorry, he has astigmatism,” Chanyeol said, smiley as ever. “Kyungsoo, isn’t that what your glasses are for?”

Jongin did not know much about astigmatism, but he was pretty sure you could still make eye contact with other human beings if you had it. Kyungsoo adjusted his glasses. It took him a second, but he responded, “Yes.” Oh, wow, he had a deep voice for such a little man, Jongin observed. Not that he cared, though, because this hyung was totally _rude_ , and Jongin was not interested.

“Uhh…” Chanyeol droned through his smile, “Kyungsoo wanted to meet you two.”

“Us?” Jongin asked, mildly interested. “Why?”

“Because of the photos!” Chanyeol cheered. Kyungsoo went completely still. It looked like he stopped breathing. “You know, the project!”

Jongin yelled, “You showed him the photos ** _?!_** ”

Finally, Chanyeol’s smile faltered. It persevered, steadfast as ever, but faltered. “Uh… yes? I mean, he follows my blog…”

“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo whispered. It sounded like a warning.

“Your _blog_?” Sehun asked at the same time Jongin demanded, “ _Excuse_ me?!”

“My online portfolio,” Chanyeol said, noticeably troubled. “I told you guys it would be going in my portfolio.”

“I didn’t know a _portfolio_ was a _blog **!**_ ” Jongin cried.

“You said it would help you get a job!” Sehun cried immediately after.

Chanyeol frowned like a sad puppy. It was an incredible feat. “But it… it will help me get a job… and you… you signed the media release consent forms… I…” He tried to use his hands to communicate what he could not vocalize.

“I did not agree to let you post them online, though!” Jongin argued.

“Uh…” Chanyeol rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, you did. Those were the papers you signed. You didn’t… you didn’t read them at all, did you?”

Chanyeol had given Sehun and Jongin the consent forms a few days in advance so they could properly read them through. Jongin forgot the papers in his backpack and signed them without looking on the day of the shoot.

Sehun’s mouth hung agape. “Oh… we should have read those.”

“Nobody reads the terms and conditions,” Jongin growled. This was so unfair. “Chanyeol, take the photos down.”

“Oh, yes, of course, sure, no problem!” Chanyeol assured. There had to be a catch here. This was too easy. “But, uhm…” Oh no. “Baekhyun, kind of, posted the link to my blog on his Twitter account last night, and—“

Yeah, there it was. Sehun and Jongin let out a string of curses in unison. Chanyeol apologized profusely.

A light bulb went on in Jongin’s head. “That’s it!” he exclaimed. “That’s why everyone is looking at me!”

“Everyone is always looking at you,” Chanyeol commented. Jongin shot him a death glare. Chanyeol shrunk back. Jongin could have sworn that Chanyeol’s hair colour paled from cherry to a suspicious shade of auburn.

Sehun shoved the rest of his sandwich in his mouth. “I guess it’s cool with me,” he said nonchalantly. “Whatever, it’s not like we were naked. See you guys later.” He collected his bag and walked away. “Nice to meet you, Kyungsoo!”

Oh right, Kyungsoo was there. Kyungsoo ostensibly did not want to be there.

Silence hung over the remaining three. Chanyeol shattered it with an awkward laugh. “I actually have to go…” he hesitantly admitted. “I just… came to introduce Kyungsoo…”

Kyungsoo’s head shot up. He fixed Chanyeol with the most lethal death glare that Jongin had ever seen. Frankly, it was super hot, but Kyungsoo was still rude. Chanyeol awkwardly laughed again and skipped away. Jongin could practically hear the obnoxious finger guns in that laugh.

The silence returned. Kyungsoo stared at the floor. Jongin cleared his throat. Was it really his responsibility to say something here? He just wanted to eat his soup, he never asked for this.

Then, Kyungsoo asked, “Can I sit with you?”

Jongin did not want to eat with this hyung. Before he could reply, his phone buzzed.

A text from **Chanyeol** came through: please be nice to kyungsoo HAHAHAHAHA im so sorry.

Jongin audibly sighed. “Yeah, sure.” He gestured to the now vacant chair in front of him. Kyungsoo delicately sat down and stared at his lap.

Jongin spooned soup into his mouth. “So…” he attempted to break the awkward silence.

Kyungsoo looked up just enough for Jongin to see the other boy had eyes. It was a start. Jongin continued, “Nice glasses.”

It had to have been a trick of the light, but Jongin thought he saw Kyungsoo’s lips twitch upward at one corner. (Maybe Jongin was interested now, but that was not important.)

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo responded. “Nice… shirt.”

Despite himself, Jongin barked out a laugh. “Thanks. It’s your first time seeing me wear one, right?”

Kyungsoo looked down again, but this time, he just looked cute and bashful. Maybe he was not rude at all, just shy. Jongin was willing to give him a second chance. (Maybe Jongin was easy, but that was not important either.)

“I’ve seen you before,” Kyungsoo said.

“Oh?” Jongin asked. That was a little surprising. “Where?”

“Just on social media,” Kyungsoo explained. “We have a few mutual friends.”

“Ohhh,” Jongin nodded. “So why haven’t we met?”

Kyungsoo was quiet for a moment. Then, he said, “I’m not really good at making friends.”

 _Awhh,_ so he _was_ shy. Jongin almost cooed. “It helps if you look at them, for starters.” He poked his spoon in Kyungsoo’s direction.

At first, there was no response. Then, slowly, Kyungsoo looked up.

Wow. Jongin was envious of the floor.

He stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed. This boy was beautiful. Every one of his features – from his forehead, to his eyes, to his nose, to his mouth, to the shape of his jaw – was beautiful. Jongin was attractive, but this guy might actually be an Adonis. He understood how good looks could be intimidating now.

Wait – **_this guy_** wanted to meet _Jongin?!_ Unrealistic. You could not even see Jongin’s thighs in those photos. Kyungsoo must be a curious model or something. Damn, the pressure was on to be impressive now.

“What?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Nothing,” Jongin shook his head. “You’re just… you’re really good looking.”

Kyungsoo looked down. He did not look especially pleased by the compliment. Jongin should have known better than to come on so strong. He had to be cool about this. “Ah, sorry, was that too much? You seem shy.”

Kyungsoo shrugged in response. Jongin repeated, “I’m sorry if that was too much.”

Kyungsoo shook his head. “Forget about it, this was stupid,” he said. He picked up his bag. Jongin dropped his spoon, startled by Kyungsoo’s abrupt movements.

“Hey, no, wait,” Jongin held out his hands and pleaded. “That was really stupid of me, I wasn’t even thinking. I really shouldn’t have said that to you.” He put on his best puppy dog eyes, dark and desperate. “Give me another chance, hyung?” Oh yeah – he laid it on thick as Skippy.

Kyungsoo held eye contact for a solid minute. He caved, sighed, and dropped his bag. “It’s not about you,” he said. “It’s about me. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Anything about what?”

Kyungsoo clenched his jaw. “About… your photos.”

This all happened because of those photos, yet Jongin still did not know what that meant. “What did you say about them?”

Kyungsoo sat facing away from Jongin, elbows resting on his knees. “Nothing, just that…” his voice caught in his throat, “I told Baekhyun… that I was… interested.”

A giggle escaped Jongin’s throat against his will. He was just so relieved. “Oh, is that all? Seriously?” he smiled. “What are you interested in? Just be honest.”

Kyungsoo hesitated. “The photos.”

Jongin giggled again. “Yes, I understand that. What about them?” he prompted. “Are you a model?”

“No.”

“Are you interested in modeling?”

Kyungsoo paused, then shook his head. “Not really.”

“So then, what?” Jongin would poke him with a stick if he could. He settled for jabbing his spoon at Kyungsoo’s arm. “You can just ask if I’m a gay porn star, if that’s what this is about.” He was only half-joking.

Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped in an emotion akin to horror. Jongin burst into laughter. “I’m not, if that’s what you want to know!” Jongin said. “This was my first time doing a shoot like that!”

Kyungsoo dropped his head into his hands. This was clearly going better for Jongin.

Jongin forced himself to calm down. “Ah, I’m sorry, hyung,” he said. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

Kyungsoo lowered his hands. “I don’t,” he said. His cheeks were faintly pink. He picked up his backpack and stood. “I just have to leave now.”

Jongin could not help but smile. “I guess you got your answer then, right?”

Kyungsoo did not look at him. “Like I said, this was stupid.”

That was not a denial. “It was not stupid,” Jongin said. “Honestly, it’s okay. I’m not awkward about this kind of stuff. I would never have done the photoshoot if I was.”

Kyungsoo nodded and hastened to leave. Jongin grabbed Kyungsoo’s jacket sleeve. “Hey,” he said gently. “It’s okay if you never want to see me again, I mean, I don’t know why you think this meeting was so stupid, but just… just ask Baekhyun for my number if you want it, okay?”

Kyungsoo gave him a lopsided smile. It looked forced, almost a little sad, but Jongin still felt warm beneath it. “I will, thank you.”

Jongin gave him a small smile back and nodded. He let go of Kyungsoo’s jacket. Kyungsoo walked away, eyes trained on the floor.

 **Jongin; to Chanyeol:** You know what? I overreacted. Art is a beautiful thing, and it should be shared with the world.

 **Chanyeol; to Jongin:** YAAAAAAAAY you like him :D :D :D :D!!!!!!

-♡-

Friday evening found Jongin and Sehun lazing around in Sehun’s bedroom. Their homework lay scattered on the bed and floor, but it would have to wait for motivation to strike if it wanted to be done. Hopefully the homework could be patient.

Jongin lied horizontally, head resting on Sehun’s abdomen, and Sehun lied vertically with a pillow under his back. They partook in the special bonding activity of using their own social media accounts while hanging out with each other. This time spent together was important, much more important than lame academics. The social media activity came second only to the friendship nap. Jongin reblogged a picture of a dog licking an ice cream cone and tagged Sehun in it.

A minute later, Sehun said, “Nice.”

Jongin continued scrolling. He nearly dropped his phone when a picture of himself and Sehun came up on the screen. Apparently the photoshoot was getting a fair amount of recognition. Locally famous, but still recognized. He snorted, reblogged it, and tagged Sehun in that too.

A minute later, Sehun gasped. He then said, “Thanks. The one on the left is a ten, but the guy on the right is not my type.” Jongin just scoffed at him with a fond smile. Sehun, the self-professed ten, continued, “Hey, have you been getting weird messages lately?”

“Like, on SNS?” Jongin asked. “Pretty often, yeah.”

“No, like, from our friends.”

“Weird messages, like, shit our friends say, or weird, like, actually weird?”

“Well, both, but I mean actually weird.”

“Like how?”

“Like, three people told me that they’re happy for us, and Taemin sent me one of those Calvin Klein memes that says ‘I _am gay_ in my Calvins’, but I guess that part isn’t weird… I wasn’t even wearing Calvins though, you were, and I’m gayer than you, so that’s homophobic.”

“Yeah, he sent me that too,” Jongin replied. “That’s not weird for him, he’s just a weirdo. And don’t be ridiculous, I am _so_ gayer than you.”

“Sounds fake.”

“Those messages are weird, though…” Jongin ignored him, “why haven’t I gotten those?”

“I’m more popular than you are,” Sehun easily answered.

Jongin set himself up for that one, so he accepted it. “These people do know we’re not actually models, right?” They were getting a lot of congratulations for amateurs.

“Maybe you’re not, but I could be,” Sehun replied. “My form was impeccable.”

“You have them all fooled,” Jongin played along. “Maybe tomorrow you’ll get an offer to really model for Calvin Klein.”

“At least then I can show you how it’s done.”

Jongin laughed and knocked Sehun’s phone out of his hand as revenge. Sehun tried to retaliate and do the same to Jongin’s phone, but Jongin swiftly moved his device out of reach. Sehun shifted under him to lean forward for better reach, jostling Jongin’s head. Jongin made a noise of pain which Sehun cared not about. Jongin tried to scamper away, but the Noodle was too quick, and he used his long limbs to his advantage and ensnared Jongin in his noodley trap. Jongin valiantly kept his phone out of reach.

Then, the phone lit up, ringing. Sehun and Jongin paused. It was an unknown number. “Who’s that?” Sehun asked.

“Not sure,” Jongin replied. “Should I answer?”

“It’s your phone,” Sehun replied, “just hurry up and respond so I can get back to my sweet revenge.”

Answering the phone would buy Jongin some time to come up with battle strategies or an escape plan. Maybe it would be an important enough call to buy Jongin a get out of jail free card from AzkaHun. He swiped to accept the call and put it on speaker. “Hello?”

“Uhm, hello, Jongin?” a familiar, but unknown voice spoke. “This is Do Kyungsoo.”

Sehun took no mercy on Jongin – they would fight whether Jongin was on the phone or not. Sehun wrapped his arms around Jongin’s middle and pulled them both backwards. Together, they fell down onto the bed, and it loudly creaked beneath their weight. Jongin barked out a displeased noise, followed by a whiny, “ _Yah, Hunnie!_ ”

“Uh…” Kyungsoo spoke again, “is this Kim Jongin?”

“Yes!” Jongin hastened to confirm, “Yes, this is Kim Jongin, you have the right number!” The word ‘number’ was muffled when Sehun cupped his hand over Jongin’s mouth. Jongin knew that licking would have no effect on the freak of nature, so instead, Jongin let out a downright wanton moan. Sehun yanked his hand away and slapped Jongin on the arm. Jongin cried, “ _Ah **!**_ ”

Kyungsoo stuttered incoherently for a moment, then managed to choke out, “I– is this a… bad time?”

“Uh, kind of, but it’s not your fault,” Jongin replied. “I’m wrestling with Sehun.”

A moment of silence, and then, “Wrestling?”

“Yeah, bed-wrestling. It’s like wrestling but I don’t have to do sports. It’s great!”

Kyungsoo could barely form sounds on the other line. Finally, he said, “I – I’ll talk to you later,” and promptly hung up. Jongin did not even get to say goodbye. What the heck? He held his phone away from his face and stared at it in confusion.

Sehun took the opportunity to knock the phone out of Jongin’s hands. Jongin absolutely wailed in anger. How dare he strike when Jongin’s guard was down? “Hey, you coward! I wasn’t ready!”

“Tell it to a Hufflepuff or something,” Sehun replied. Jongin did not even need to look at him to know he was bitchfacing. “By the way, you said ‘opportunist’ wrong.”

“I hate you,” Jongin muttered, in complete platonic love with his best friend forever until the end of time. He retrieved his phone from where it lay a short distance away on the mattress. He pouted. “Why did Kyungsoo hang up on me?”

Sehun snorted. “You literally just told him we were having sex.”

Jongin’s jaw dropped. “What the fuck? I did no such—” the realization hit hard. “ _Oh_ my ** _god!_** ”

Sehun collapsed into a fit of laughter, finally releasing his hold on Jongin in the process. Jongin just stared blankly at his phone in true horror.

Time passed – maybe ten seconds in reality, but on the metaphysical plane, where Jongin lived now, time was an unfathomable concept. After those ten seconds went by, Sehun calmed down enough to say, “It – it’s not so bad. Just – just tell him you—” he forced out the words through his giggling, “Just tell him you didn’t mean it that way.”

“Solid plan, Boy Genius,” Jongin fired back. “I was just going to let him think I would let you near all of **_this_**.”

Sehun’s laugh mutated into something less joyful and more incredulous. “All of _what_? Your back just divides into your thighs.”

Jongin smacked him. Sehun’s superior booty really gave him a superiority complex. “My ass is _fine_.”

“ _Fine_ as in average,” Sehun said, “not like, ‘ _damn, he’s fine’,_ fine.”

“I will kick you in the dick,” Jongin warned. Sehun protected himself. Going back to the issue of Kyungsoo, Jongin whined, “How could he think we were having sex? I was yelling at you!”

Sehun shrugged with a smirk. “Hate sex is great sex, right?”

Jongin deleted Sehun’s number right in front of him.

-♡-

Jongin debated calling Kyungsoo back all weekend, but he was too overcome with awkwardness every time. He figured it would be better to just tell him in person, especially after postponing the phone call longer than a day. Kyungsoo was already an awkward person. There was just no way it would go over well if Jongin could not use the **eyes** on him. It was all riding on the puppy dog gaze. Hopefully it would be enough to woo Kyungsoo into getting coffee or something with him, because Jongin really wanted to properly meet the other boy, and that was not something he could ask over the phone now, not until this misunderstanding was cleared up. Damn it, Sehun.

He asked Chanyeol to track Kyungsoo down. At lunch, Chanyeol relayed that Kyungsoo was at the school library. Jongin thanked him for his service. Chanyeol got really excited about pretending to be a spy and broke character to giggle like a baby. Jongin hung up before he could literally squeal about his fondness, because he had to be cool and composed to handle the upcoming struggle. He took a fortifying breath, let it out, and entered the library.

If his source was correct, Kyungsoo would be in the reading nook on the second floor. Jongin ignored the eyes that seemed to follow him everywhere (the tapping sound was amplified even more by the silence in the library,) and made his way over.

Target sighted. He sent a quick text to Taemin.

 **Dancing King:** oh my god he is right there and he is beautiful fuck me

 **Gaymin:** gay lol

 **Gaymin:** I thought that’s why you’re on a man hunt for this guy lmao

 **Dancing King:** ur honestly not funny at all

 **Gaymin:** that’s why I’m a dancer and not a comedian. now go get ur man!!

That was all the encouragement Jongin needed. He did not need a lot, just something, anything. He walked up to Kyungsoo who had his face in a book. Jongin cleared his throat and greeted, “Hey.”

Kyungsoo looked up. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Hey.”

Jongin rubbed the back of his neck. The puppy dog gaze was in full force. “Look, I’m really sorry about the other day. I don’t know what you think was happening, but we were actually just wrestling. Sehun is mean to me.”

Kyungsoo’s expression fell. He looked concerned. “Like, actually mean?”

Jongin blinked in surprise. Kyungsoo was the sweetest guy on Earth if he actually gave a shit about how Sehun bullied him. “No, no – well, yes, but no. We’re mean to each other. But he’s meaner!”

Kyungsoo’s lips twitched at one corner. He smile-frowned. Jongin whined, “What?”

Kyungsoo’s smile widened and he looked down. Jongin would smile too if he was not made so grumpy at the mention of Sehun. He looked back up and said, “You’re pouting.”

Jongin sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. “Mm-mm,” he denied with his mouth closed.

Kyungsoo let out a silent laugh. One of his eyes closed more than the other. Fucking adorable. “Sorry, you’re just…” Kyungsoo bit his own bottom lip. “Whatever.”

“Hm?” Jongin was blatantly and unabashedly interested in Kyungsoo. “No, what is it? What am I?”

Kyungsoo sighed and shook his head. “Taken,” he muttered, and his smile fell. “And that’s kind of all that matters.”

Jongin raised an eyebrow. He thought he heard what Kyungsoo said, but it just did not make sense. “I’m what?”

Kyungsoo closed his book and slipped it into his backpack. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Wait, what?” Jongin’s head spun. “Hold on, what did you—”

“I actually have class in five minutes,” Kyungsoo said, and he looked apologetic. “Call me when you’re not busy.”

“I was _not_ getting busy with Sehun!” Jongin cried. A chill ran down his spine at the simple thought of it. Some students nearby gave him dirty looks. Jongin shut himself up.

Kyungsoo was pink-cheeked as he smiled, shook his head, and turned to walk away. Jongin was awed by that image of Kyungsoo long after the boy departed.

“Oh, hey Jongin,” a kind voice was heard. Jongin turned to see Sunyoung smiling and waving from a nearby table. Jongin went over to her. She continued, “I’m happy for you and Sehun! So glad you two finally worked out all that tension.”

Jongin shot her an inquisitive look and crossed his arms. “Uhm… I don’t know how effective you think wrestling is for working out issues, but Sehun and I still have plenty of tension.”

Sunyoung giggled. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about right now, Jongin, but I meant that I’m happy you two are not doing the whole ‘just friends’ thing anymore. I kind of expected it to happen with Taemin, though. Oh well!”

Did everyone think Sehun and Jongin were softcore gay porn models now? The photoshoot was really not even that sexy.

“Oh, no, you misunderstand,” Jongin said. “Sehun and I don’t model together. That was a one-time thing. As of right now, we don’t have any real modeling offers. You’re right about Taemin being hotter, but Chanyeol didn’t care about our looks, just our gayness. Do you think Taemin is gayer than Sehun?” Jongin pondered it. “Mmm, maybe sometimes.”

Sunyoung blinked at him, seemingly not comprehending. Jongin was not sure there was a lot to take in here. He raised his eyebrows, equally confounded.

“I…” Sunyoung started, “am I missing something here?”

 _Clearly,_ Jongin wanted to say, but he was clearly missing something too, so the condescension would not be fair. “Uhm, I don’t know, are you?”

“I’m… trying to congratulate you on your relationship, Jongin,” Sunyoung said, “not the modeling.”

“What relationship?” Jongin asked. She could not be serious.

Sunyoung smiled and shook her head. “You know what? I’m going to let you two work it out. It was nice to see you again, Jongin.”

What was it with people and leaving Jongin hanging? He let out a breath, smiled back, and nodded. He had to get to class anyway.

-♡-

Jongin stirred the tapioca left in the bottom of his cup. “I don’t get it,” He spoke. The Sehun topic had not come up on his whole study date with Krystal, but it started to bug him enough to mention it on his own volition.

Krystal stirred her own tea. “Like, just in general, or…?”

“I don’t get the attention on me and Sehun!” Jongin said, exasperated. “I actually got a message about it today. What the hell is everyone talking about?”

“Beats me, kid,” Krystal replied. “I mean, you’re not even sick of bubble tea anymore,” she gestured to his cup. “How long has it been since Sehun dragged you out for tea?”

“A long time,” Jongin said. Sehun had completely abandoned him in favour of getting tea with his new favourite person, his foreign boyfriend. It hurt in the _‘sorry I can’t be him/her’_ way. “Like, a week, which is a long time for Sehun. Maybe even eight days!”

Krystal poked at her tapioca with a disapproving shake of her head. “Terrible,” she said, “I could never ship you guys.”

Jongin felt dead inside. “What.”

Krystal smiled. “Oh come on, it’s funny,” she said. “This is what you’re talking about, right? How everyone thinks you’re dating Sehun?”

Jongin almost threw up his tea. “ ** _What?!_** ”

Krystal snorted, almost spitting out her own drink. “Oh my god, how did you not know? Do you, like, only talk to the group chat?”

“Maybe!” Jongin said, defensive, because that was not her concern. “Anyway, we’re not talking about that. People _actually_ think me and Sehun are dating ** _??_** ”

“Yeah?” Krystal replied like it was obvious. “You haven’t heard _anything?_ ”

“I THOUGHT—” Jongin cut himself off and recomposed. He would not shout out anything scandalous about Sehun ever again. “I thought that everyone just thinks we do softcore gay pornography now!”

Krystal collapsed into laughter. Why couldn’t Jongin just have one nice best friend who gave him a break every once in a while? “Oh my god, Jongin, I’m so sorry,” she covered her mouth.

Jongin dropped his head to rest on the table. “It makes sense now.”

“Glad I could help.”

“You did nothing,” Jongin growled. "Why did no one tell me?"

"Well, we all knew the truth, so I guess it wasn't important? They're just rumours."

"Yeah, but like, _no one_ told me."

"They kinda did."

"Not explicitly."

"You're too pretty to talk to, Jongin," Krystal shrugged. "No one has the guts."

It made Jongin's heart flutter to realize that this might be why Kyungsoo had trouble looking at him. He sighed. “Kyungsoo said something to me at the library today. He was like, ‘You’re so…’ and I was like, ‘What?’ and I thought he said ‘okay’ or ‘torture’, but I think he said ‘taken’.”

Krystal stared at him blankly. “How did you fuck that up?”

“I didn’t know why he would be saying ‘taken’…” Jongin hated his life.

Krystal continued to laugh at him. “Well, now you can finally address the elephant in the room that everyone could see but you.”

Jongin gave her an insincere smile. “Thanks.”

“Again, I’m just happy to help.”

-♡-

Chanyeol let his phone ring a whole three times like the coward he was. Finally, he answered, “Hello?”

“How could you not tell me people think I’m dating Sehun?” Jongin demanded.

Chanyeol laughed nervously. “Ah, haha… uh… you never mentioned it.”

“I never knew!”

More awkward laughter crackled through the receiver. Then, “Don’t worry, Jongin, just tell everyone you’re not! It’s not like you two encourage it.”

“Sunyoung thinks we have tension,” Jongin deadpanned. “Like, ‘more than friends’ kind of tension.”

“I’m… sure it’s all been misconstrued,” Chanyeol placated. “Since people think you’re dating, they see, uh, special tension, where it really isn’t.”

Jongin deadpanned, “‘Special’ tension?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you going to tell me where babies come from now, or are you going to talk to me like I’m twenty-two fucking years old?”

“Hey, you’re the twenty-two year old who couldn’t figure out people thought you were dating Sehun,” Chanyeol retaliated. Jongin winced. He did not have to go in that hard. Chanyeol quickly followed that comeback with, “Sorry, I know you have that problem with denial.”

“Excuse me? What problem?”

“Ah, right, the denial,” Chanyeol reminded himself. “You know, how you refuse to admit you actually like Sehun—”

“THANKS, DR. PHIL,” Jongin spoke over him. “Didn’t ask.”

“As a friend!” Chanyeol finished. “You like him more than you want to admit, _as a friend!_ ”

Jongin ignored him, denying it. “I do not like that bratty noodle.”

“Ah… of course.” He did not sound convinced.

Whatever, there was no point in fighting ~~the truth~~ Chanyeol. Jongin just accepted it and moved onto his next question. “Can you do something for me?”

“Of course,” said Chanyeol. There was no catch. Chanyeol made the tough times bearable.

-♡-

Kyungsoo looked up from his phone to see Jongin approaching. He gave the younger boy an apologetic smile. Jongin gave one him one back. “Hey,” he greeted, and nodded to Kyungsoo’s phone. “Did you see the post?”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo nodded. He slipped his phone into his pocket. “So you’re not really dating Sehun?”

Chanyeol posted a statement across all his social media accounts that his models, Sehun and Jongin, were in fact not dating, despite the recent beliefs and rumours surrounding them. He offered to have the photos taken down as well, but Jongin told him to leave them up. They were actually really nice photos. The one where Jongin closed his eyes was even kind of beautiful.

The most important thing was that Kyungsoo liked the photos so much they had made him want to meet Jongin. He owed Chanyeol – and now Baekhyun – so much.

“No,” Jongin replied. “Sehun is dating a Chinese exchange student and ditches me to drink bubble tea with him. They’re keeping it on the downlow because the guy is an actor in China or something. Honestly, I don’t know why everyone decided we were dating. If anything, I thought there was going to be rumours about us being gay porn stars.”

Kyungsoo smiled and looked down, and his shoulders jiggled as he laughed. He was the sweetest and most adorable creature on Earth. “Yeah, there were some…”

Jongin’s expression dropped. “What?”

Kyungsoo looked up with wide eyes. “Oh…” he started to laugh again. “You didn’t know that?”

Jongin rubbed a hand over his face. “Ah, seriously… is it because of that one time I pole danced? Stripping is not the same as pornography.”

“I… don’t know much about that,” Kyungsoo replied. “I saw it last year on Baekhyun’s Facebook, though.”

“Of course you did,” Jongin sighed.

“I think Kai is a nice stripper name,” Kyungsoo said, voice barely above a whisper. Of course Kyungsoo remembered the name Jongin gave himself.

Despite everything, Jongin laughed. He had to. This whole situation was ridiculous and Kyungsoo was adorable, and Jongin might never have met Kyungsoo if not for this situation. It was time to look at the bright side. “Thank you. What’s yours?”

Kyungsoo squeaked out a laugh that made Jongin laugh harder. “I can’t dance,” Kyungsoo answered.

“If that’s the only thing stopping you, I can definitely help you out,” Jongin offered. His smile was playful, but the offer was sincere.

Kyungsoo shyly looked at the ground. He pushed his glasses back onto his nose bridge. “So, you want to get coffee now?”

In all honesty, Jongin hated coffee, but coffee _is_ why he had asked Kyungsoo to meet him at the café, so yeah, they should probably go do that. “Sure,” he nudged his arm into Kyungsoo’s.

Once they were both in line, Kyungsoo nudged Jongin’s arm back. He was still staring at the floor. Jongin felt his stomach burst to life with butterflies. Kyungsoo, even from this angle, was gorgeous, sculpted from the finest stone. Art really was a beautiful thing.

-♡-

Kyungsoo and Jongin sat on Jongin’s couch, kind of watching a movie, but more invested in each other. This was their third official date, so Jongin felt it was appropriate to finally take Kyungsoo home. Truly, he did not need much to be satisfied. A few dates were more than enough preparation for him. Luckily, Kyungsoo agreed.

“Hey,” Kyungsoo said, “did you see how your new photos turned out?”

Jongin smiled. “Yeah, he always shows them to me first. Did he post them today?”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo smiled back.

For this shoot, Jongin was half-dressed in a ripped sweater and underwear. His hair was mussed up six ways to Sunday. The concept was sweet, honest, and messy, the reality of what even the most seductive lovers look like come morning. Chanyeol’s bi ass was doing a whole gay series for a magazine that offered him a job, and Jongin and Sehun were recurring models, completely on their own accord. To everyone’s great pleasure though, Jongin and Sehun never had to do another shoot **_together_** again.

Also, Jongin felt it was worth noting that Chanyeol’s hair was pink now, and no one saw him dye it. Funny how it just changed after Chanyeol’s popularity increased, like maybe he was more stressed, or happy, or whatever other feeling. Suspicious. Jongin hoped Chanyeol was happier, because he deserved to be.

“Do you like them?” Jongin asked.

Kyungsoo blushed. “They’re nice.”

“That’s really what I look like in the morning, you know,” Jongin said. “Do you still like me?”

Kyungsoo buried his face in Jongin’s shoulder. “I like you more now.”

Jongin’s heart fluttered. “Seriously? I thought you were in it for the hot, passionate love.”

Kyungsoo grumbled something incoherent. Jongin laughed. Kyungsoo raised his head to say, “I was never interested in that aspect of it.”

“Oh yeah!” Jongin remembered something. “You said you told Baekhyun that you were ‘interested’. What did you mean by that?”

Kyungsoo gave him a dubious look, but he still just smiled fondly. “I meant that I was interested in _you_ , idiot.”

Jongin’s stomach was overtaken by fire and butterflies and spun sugar all at once. “Oh, am I an idiot?”

“Yes.”

“Do you still like me?”

Kyungsoo nuzzled his forehead into Jongin’s temple. “Yes.”

Jongin turned to face him. Their noses touched. “Why are you being so cute?”

“Jongin, if you really don’t get what I’m doing, then you seriously are an idiot.”

Jongin just wanted to be sure. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to kiss you.”

“Hey, that’s not me being an idiot! I’m just being humble. I don’t know if you want to kiss me.”

Kyungsoo’s heart-shaped smile overtook his lips. “Idiot.”

As much as Jongin loved to see that smile, he wanted to kiss those lips more. He tilted Kyungsoo’s head back with a hand under his chin. The smile slipped off Kyungsoo’s cheeks. Jongin moved in, and their lips brushed. Kyungsoo enveloped Jongin’s bottom lip between his own. Jongin moved his hand to Kyungsoo’s cheek and kissed him back.

The kiss was kept short and sweet. Kyungsoo pulled back first. A blissful smirk lingered on Jongin’s lips. “So you’re really not in it for hot and sexy romance?”

Kyungsoo said, “I’ll take that too.”

Jongin’s mouth dropped into an open smile, awestruck. “ _Wah~!_ I thought you were shy!”

“I thought you did gay porn.”

Jongin tackled Kyungsoo down onto the couch. They kissed in between bouts of laughter.

-♡-

Jongin leaned back on the headboard and wrapped a hand around his arm. Sehun got into a similar pose. Chanyeol instructed them to lean their heads together, so the fell closer together with a small clunk when their heads touched. Jongin tried to hold in his giggles.

It was a non-sexual concept this time, but the nature of the relationship was left up to interpretation. Jongin and Sehun sat together on a disheveled bed wearing oversized sweaters and shorts. The set was bright, coloured in shades of yellow and pink, and they were surrounded by soft blankets and pillows. It felt like a sleepover, but Jongin could not catch a vibe on friendship or romance. It was really subjective to the person viewing the photoshoot. All he knew was that Sehun was there, and he loved Sehun.

Sehun’s body started to shake with laughter when Jongin’s did. Chanyeol scolded them, but he smiled and snapped a picture anyway. Authenticity was always a key component of his work.

“Why are you laughing?” Sehun asked. “You’re so unprofessional.”

“Speak for yourself,” Jongin replied.

The two held back their laughter to spite each other. Chanyeol appreciated their efforts, but encouraged them to look more natural. That made Jongin burst into proper laughter. Sehun followed suit. Chanyeol snapped pictures of them falling over each other in fits of laughter.

“Why are you capturing this?” Jongin demanded. “We look awful!”

“Speak for yourself!” Sehun rebutted. “I am always camera ready.”

Jongin ran his hand through Sehun’s hair and fluffed it up. They had their hair styled messily, but it was a controlled mess to fit the aesthetic. Sehun did not appreciate Jongin sabotaging his **look**. Jongin cackled while Sehun complained. Chanyeol got a picture of that too.

“Okay, almost done,” Chanyeol said, beaming. His pink hair glowed vivid as cream soda. “You guys are doing a lot better this time. Give me one last pose, whatever you want to do.”

Jongin dropped his hand from Sehun’s hair. He leaned his head back on the headboard and stared at Sehun’s profile. Sehun turned his head to meet Jongin’s eyes.

“What should we do?” Jongin asked.

Sehun shrugged. “I don’t know. What should we do?”

The two stared at each other in silence, waiting for inspiration to strike. Maybe Jongin liked looking at Sehun’s dumb face a little too much, because he could feel a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Gross. Sehun was not looking away either, though.

They did not have to say it out loud. They would never have to say it out loud. Jongin loved his best friend. Sehun felt the same. Jongin could hear it clearly in every scoff and insult.

Chanyeol snapped a picture. “Perfect.”

 _Here we go again,_ Jongin thought. Whatever. Jongin, Sehun, Kyungsoo, and Luhan all knew the truth – every truth – and that is all that mattered. The photos could be interpreted however the viewer decided. That was the point of art.

“I would tell you a picture lasts longer, but…” Sehun smirked, “you’ll have one soon. Cherish it.”

As if Jongin did not have enough selfies of Sehun on his phone, courtesy of the camera whore himself. Jongin smiled and blinked to break the spell between them. “Aish, shut up, you narcissistic brat.”

Sehun nodded and looked forward. “That’s better.”

 


End file.
